Improving efficiency in water use and conservation in Spanish hotels

[EN] Hotels are a fundamental component within the tourist Spanish sector, and its role in water management turns out more relevant taking into account the fact that tourist areas, in which they are generally located, are water scarce. Trying to go further from the standard ratios and estimations to plan water conservation, this work intends to really measure and quantify water use in rooms. Only by doing this, later conservation actions, now able to be reliably specified for each specific use, could achieve a real success.This work would have not been possible without the valuable support of the following organizations: − SPANISH MINISTRY OF EDUCATION, through the research project “Gestión Eficiente del Agua en Abastecimientos Urbanos: Desarrollo de una Metodología Integrada para su Diagnóstico y Mejora” REN2002-03196. − SOL MELIÁ hotels and, specially, their technical and managerial staff in operations and maintenance. − CAM – Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo. − IDAE – Instituto para la Diversificación y Ahorro de la Energía. − TEHSA company and, in particular, his manager Mr. Luis Ruiz, leader of project AECO2, within which this work is being developed.Cobacho Jordán, R.; Arregui De La Cruz, F.; Parra, JC.; Cabrera Rochera, E. (2005). Improving efficiency in water use and conservation in Spanish hotels. Water Science and Technology: Water Supply (Online). 5(3-4):273-279. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/111631S27327953-